Ever Think your Taste Buds Must be Wrong?

[WVOldFart]

Edited for capitialization. Removed date (Needed for FS items). -jpm

know everyone's taste buds are different. That's why there are so many tobaccos to choose from, but sometimes I think mine must be defective. I read about how certain tobaccos are so good and I try and try to find as many good qualities that I can find for them, but after many tries I still don't see it. For instance, I read from many tobacco enthusiast that Sir Walter Raleigh Aromatic is so much better than SWR Regular. I have tried and tried and tried to appreciate the blend, but no such luck. I just finished a bowl of SWR Aromatic and it was not an unpleasant smoke. In fact, it burned great (only had to do the char light and never relit), burned smooth, no tongue bite and burned at a nice pace, so I shouldn't be complaining. I don't taste what others must taste. I can't trade in my taste buds for a new set so after the pouch is finished. I won't reorder. Do any forum members have similar experiences of not seeing what others find in a blend?

 

[Chasing Embers]

I read about how certain tobaccos are so good and I try and try to find as many good qualities that I can find for them, but after many tries I still don't see it

Tobacco reviews or any reviews taste related are entirely useless.

 

[anotherbob]

I think it's better to assume the other peoples taste buds are broken. Or that they're delusional from head injuries.

 

[bullet08]

With as many medical conditions as I have, I'm surprised I can taste and smell anything at all. If something tastes funny, I'm sure my doc will say it's diabetes.

 

[mortonbriar]

Taste buds are just like opinions, everyone has a mouthful of them!

My approach (it was a journey I guess) is just to smoke more of what I like, and not dwell on the 'amazing' blend that did not do much for me.

 

[STP]

Yes… there are a lot of “best sellers” and highly rated tobaccos that I don’t like. I’ve come back to a few and have had a change of heart, while still not liking others. I’ve also noticed that the exact same tobacco from the same tin can taste different with each bowl, whereas Pepsi always taste like Pepsi, Hersey Candy Bars always taste the same, etc. I guess that can illustrates the importance of consistent packing, cadence, temperature control, etc. It’s always a learning experience, which is one of the reasons I enjoy it…

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I can taste most of what is posted on TR. But, on this forum, I sometimes have a hard time with folks liking things that I have found gawdawful. I will try something to death, objectively, before I totally give it a thumbs down, so when I see someone else likes the thing I found repulsive repeatedly, I have to make a note of that, in case they go giving me tips on future blends, haha.

 

[SBC]

Although there is not just one kind of taster, neither are there infinite kinds of tasters.

The former means that random people's likes or dislikes of a tobacco will not be useful to you; the latter means that some people's likes or dislikes of a tobacco may be useful to you.

Look up your favorite tobaccos (especially the ones that are not universally popular), and see who else likes them.
Then look up the tobaccos that are usually well liked, that disappointed you, and see who else felt the same way.
Any names that appear on both of those lists are the names you should be looking to.

 

[OzPiper]

There is a very well-known and influential wine writer now retired (yes, that one) whose 100point wines I avoid like the plague.

His tastes and mine are polar opposites. Not saying he's wrong, as he obviously has his devotees. Our palates just don't align.

Good for me as I don't have to chase after a bottle that will sell out within hours of him posting a 100pt score ?

 

[Chasing Embers]

Any names that appear on both of those lists are the names you should be looking to.

Or you could just buy a tobacco that sounds interesting and try it for yourself.?‍

 

[SBC]

Or you could just buy a tobacco that sounds interesting and try it for yourself.?‍

Absolutely. The main reason that some of us try to filter as much as possible first, though, is that we have only so many dollars to blow. It's a bummer to find that we've depleted finite funds on disappointments. That's going to happen, of course, but we try to put the odds in our favor.

 

[Grangerous]

So many looking to the horizon to catch lightening in a bottle. Always seeking that next best blend. Granted, it takes time to narrow down to a handful of favorites, but those few are the accepted truth, regardless of what others taste. I am at peace with my burley scraps.

 

[shanez]

My taste buds are idiots but I can get lots of good flavors out of many blends.

I will say however, without retrohaling at least a little many of the flavors don't appear.

Another key for many (not all) blends is a slow cadence that keeps the pipe and tobacco from overheating. So much flavor disappears with excessive heat. I'd rather my pipe go out and relight than produce heat by trying to keep it going.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

If you are smoking a blend you like, obviously, there's other smokers who like it as well or it wouldn't exist. You need not be concerned unless you reach a point where there are no blends you like.

 

[anotherbob]

I can taste most of what is posted on TR. But, on this forum, I sometimes have a hard time with folks liking things that I have found gawdawful. I will try something to death, objectively, before I totally give it a thumbs down, so when I see someone else likes the thing I found repulsive repeatedly, I have to make a note of that, in case they go giving me tips on future blends, haha.

I wish you wouldn't talk about my wife here. (just kidding I don't have a wife).

 

[Python 357]

tobaccos that I loved 40 years ago now have very little flavor to me. Borkum Riff, SWR,which I once loved,now have almost no flavor. Dont know if the blend changed ,or if its me. I have a nose as good as a dogs and taste buds to match

 

[Merton]

Every time I read one of Jim's reviews i wonder why I am usually unable to taste the woody, floral, citrus, leathery, stewed stone fruit. Like his reviews though. Palates are different. I did taste the vinegar in Cringle flake 2019 (Regret that I never experienced Christmas Cheer) and that truly changed my entire perspective on pipe tobacco.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

Give me my taste and smell I had before early March and I’d give a better answer - still hoping both get all the way back, not there yet. But … I can sense some differences among blends but nothing I think of as all that subtle. Have yet to try something I didn’t like, but some seem smoother, some have a bit of a different taste, some seem “gooder” (!). I’m not so worried about nuances except that I’m trying to figure out what I like to guide future purchases based on ingredients. I’ve tried some things lately that seemed really nice yet different - Edward G. Robinson vs. some long aged Dan’s Shannon Flake vs. 2021 Cringle Flake - but my “review” would be simply “different than ______, liked it a lot.”

 

[danish]

For me, it takes a lot of time to know a blend. The taste and enjoyment of a particular bowl depends on so many factors. I have known people who could blind test wine off the bat and often guess correctly about origin/year. Not me. Remember once I tasted a fine wine before dinner and found hardly any taste apart from sourness. When we began to eat, the wine taste exploded with nuances and 'goodiness'. Same with tobacco. Before and after dinner/wine, the pipe tastes different. Then there is the weather, my mood, what I drink etc. And not least how much I smoke during the day. And the pipe I choose. We are all different.